Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws under pressure from Arizona Cardinals defensive end Darnell Dockett (90) during the first half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

It's the best word to describe the Detroit Lions' 38-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Four Lions turnovers led to four Cardinals touchdowns.

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Looking for someone to blame?

That is easy. Everyone. All 46 players on the active roster and every member of the coaching staff.

Afterward coach Jim Schwartz said it wasn't his most frustrating loss but said he was as mad as he's been in a long time.

He should be mad.

The Cardinals (5-9) had lost nine straight. They had the NFL's worst offense. They had scored just 17 touchdowns in 13 games -- had gone two straight games without a touchdown. They had been beaten by Seattle 58-0 the previous Sunday. Against the Lions, they scored five touchdowns -- four courtesy of those turnovers.

The Cardinals have a makeshift offensive line (due to injury) that should have been exploited by the Lions defensive line even without Nick Fairley (shoulder). And it wasn't. Ndamukong Suh broke through for a sack late. That was it. Again, the Cardinals quarterbacks had been sacked 51 times in the first 13 games, that's nearly four sacks a game.

Watch a report on the Lions' loss during today's News at Noon.

Cardinals quarterback Ryan Lindley completed his first five passes. He was 14 of 21 for 104 yards and was intercepted once (DeAndre Levy).

The Arizona run defense was 30th in the NFL and the Lions managed just 84 rushing yards.

Coming off five straight losses, the Lions were looking to win their final three games starting with the Cardinals.

Did they take them too lightly?

Possibly.

Stafford had one of his worst games. Bad throws and missed open receivers. He was 24 of 50 for 246 yards and three -- count 'em three -- interceptions. His quarterback rating was an anemic 37.6.

It was a low point in the season for him.

"For me personally, yeah. That's about as bad as I can play,'' Stafford said.

Schwartz said his quarterback has to take better care of the ball but the offense has to play better around him.

How much blame do we load onto Stafford's shoulders? He was hurried five times, knocked down 10 times and hit 10 times. The back of his grass-stained jersey looked like a before picture for Tide detergent. Where was the offensive line? Oh, wait, Gosder Cherilus was called for three false starts while Riley Reiff and Jeff Backus each had one.

Stafford's receiving corps has been decimated -- Nate Burleson was on the sidelines in street clothes, Ryan Broyles is recovering from ACL surgery and tight end Brandon Pettigrew was inactive with an ankle injury. There were more drops today including a key one by Tony Scheffler in the fourth quarter when the Lions were down by just two touchdowns.

The one bright spot is that Calvin Johnson had 10 catches for 121 yards which means he's still on pace to break Jerry Rice's single season receiving yards record set in 1995. Johnson needs just 182 yards in the next two games.

This loss is not all on Stafford, but a big share of it is. He threw a touchdown pass to Kris Durham midway through the fourth, but a delay of game (that's on him) penalty nullified it and two plays later Greg Toler intercepted Stafford in the end zone and ran it back 102 yards for a touchdown.

Stafford has to be better. I don't buy it that it's his mechanics that are a problem. These are the same mechanics he had last year when he passed for 5,038 yards.

He's tough -- at one point late he got hit so hard it looked like they were giving him a concussion test on the sideline. He was asked point-blank last week if he was playing hurt and he said he was not injured. Every NFL player is hurting 14 games into the season. I guess the degree is the question.

Still, no excuse.

There's no excuse for any of it.

This Lions are 4-10, they've lost six straight. This was their biggest margin of defeat this season -- previously it had been by 10 points at the Vikings.

They've been out of the playoff hunt for weeks, but they still should be playing to win.